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Gangaramaya’s Podi Hamuduruwo: Ven. Gnanissara’s legacy expands in America
A ten-year-old boy from Matara was brought to Colombo by the Ven. Galboda Devananda Nayaka Thera and handed over to the Ven. Vachissara Nayaka Thera of the Colombo Hunupitiya Gangaramaya temple. The well-known monk, the Ven. Morontuduwe Sri Dhammananda Thera read the young boy’s horoscope and determined that he was suitable for ordination as a samanera. The wise Venerable said he was “a saviour who should be ordained for the welfare of everybody.”
Eight days after his arrival in Colombo, on November 8, 1954, the boy was ordained and given the name Galboda Gnanissara Thera. It did not take long for the ten-year-old to become a favourite at the temple, and they nick-named the active child “Podi Hamuduruwo” because of the smallness of his physical stature and his quick energy. Even today, the Ven. Gnanissara is known as “Podi Hamuduruwo”, though he grew up to become one of the great world figures of modern Buddhism.
The talented young samanera quickly caught the attention of four of the highest-ranking Sangha members in Sri Lanka: the Ven. Morontuduwe Dhammananda Nayaka Maha Thera, the Ven. Welewitiye Soratha Nayaka Maha Thera, the Ven. Dehigaspe Pannasara Nayaka Maha Thera, and the Ven. Kotagama Vachissara Maha Thera. They protected, educated, and mentored him, and most of all, they blessed him and his future life, understanding fully well his potential as a vital force for both the sasana and the general welfare of the people of Sri Lanka. The distinguished lay patron, Mr. Ranjith Wijewardene, took a particular life-long interest in Podi Hamuduruwo when he was ten years old and continues to support his projects and programmes.
Ten years later, on June 21, 1964 he received his higher ordination at the Malwatte Viharaya in Kandy at the historic Poye Ge.
He was educated at the Vidyodaya (now Sri Jayawardenapura) University and he graduated in 1967. He was not able to study for higher degrees because of the illness of the then Gangaramaya Nayaka Thera who depended on him to administer the affairs of the temple. This is the period when he started to explore his humanitarian leanings and put his focus on the country’s underprivileged youth.
One day, young Podi Hamuduruwo caught the attention of Mr. William Gopallawa, the first President of Sri Lanka, when he visited Gangaramaya for a religious service. A close relationship with the statesman developed from that day onwards, and Mr. Gopallawa treated the young monk as if he were his own son.
Two of Podi Hamuduruwo’s most notable characteristics, recognised even at this early age, are confidence and fearlessness. He has demonstrated these two strong traits time and again over the past five decades by expanding the Gangaramaya’s programmes for the poor, implementing his visions of social welfare, and speaking out for what he knew was right.
A good example of this trait was when President J.R. Jayewardene, another close friend of Podi Hamuduruwo, made an ill-advised pact with India in 1987 that did not sit well with him and many others. Instead of taking his friend’s side in the issue, Podi Hamuduruwo took the opposite side and participated with the people of Sri Lanka in public demonstrations against the pact. He put his relationship with the President in jeopardy, but he won the respect of many, and his view on this issue has since been proven to be correct.
Mr. Jayewardene later said that if Podi Hamuduruwo had been a layperson he would have appointed him to the highest Cabinet position in the land. He admired the young man’s charisma, leadership, wisdom, and fearlessness.
Speaking of Presidents, Podi Hamuduruwo is a close friend and confidant of Sri Lanka’s former President and current Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. They have known each other for three decades. He is also close to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and is called upon from time to time to provide wise counsel.
Not accepting the idea that his only role in life would be as a Buddhist monk who performed the traditional rituals, he began launching a variety of social programmes for the benefit of the people of Sri Lanka. In the last thirty years, he founded vocational and technical schools at both Gangaramaya and Kataragama. Literally thousands of young men have received free education in various trades, enabling them to work and support their families and lead productive lives.
Fifteen years ago, he launched a programme in Kataragama for Colombo’s homeless people, providing them education, counselling and vocational training in rehabilitating these unfortunate citizens. Thanks to the Ven. Gnanissara Thera, one rarely sees beggars or homeless people on the streets of our capital — as we do see often here in Los Angeles or San Francisco or in other big American cities where there are no such far-sighted programmes in place.
The other projects Podi Hamuduruwo developed in the Kataragama area include orphanages for children, and a hundred-bed guesthouse for pilgrims visiting the sacred sites. On one occasion, he went to Taiwan where he persuaded a group of devotees there to donate thousands of bicycles, which he distributed free to the underprivileged people of Kataragama.
One of Podi Hamuduruwo’s most notable characteristics is his love of nature and commitment to maintaining a healthy and clean environment in Sri Lanka. During the past few decades, he has caused to be planted more than one million trees in Sri Lanka. He has also been an advocate for animal rights, and, as everyone knows, he is particularly fond of elephants, having kept one as a pet in the Gangaramaya temple for many years.
My favourite example of the Ven. Gnanissara’s genius is how he one day decided to improve the appearance of the country’s young monks. He noticed that they were not cutting their hair properly, or often enough. When he enquired, he discovered that the razors they used in the temples were old, dull, and painful to use, and shaving their heads became something to be avoided. Podi Hamuduruwo’s answer was to buy two thousand sets of hair clippers and offer them to monks throughout the island. He started this programme twenty years ago, and he continues to perform this act of generosity to this day.
Another favourite example that demonstrates Podi Hamuduruwo’s practical nature is his programme to clean and modernise bathroom facilities in Pirivenas all over the country. An important part of this programme was to train the young monks how to use and maintain the facilities since many of them were from rural areas and had no knowledge of such devices.
His generosity and broad vision led him to help Buddhists in other countries as well. A good example is how he often travelled to Myanmar where he offered dana to the monks. He mentored talented assistants such as the Ven. Dr. Kirinde Assaji and the Ven. Dr. Ratanasara who help him administer the vast array of programmes he has initiated under the aegis of the Gangaramaya temple.
Another of his gifted students is the Ven. Henbunne Kondanna who oversees five temples in the Metropolitan New York City Area, and other temples in Chicago and Boston. The Ven. Gnanissara was the founder of the first Buddhist Vihara in New York City and brought the well-known scholar monk Ven. Kurunegoda Piyatissa to the vihara to be its abbot.
The Ven. Siyabalagoda Ananda Thera is another good example of Podi Hamuduruwo’s positive influence and good training. After living at the Gangaramaya temple as a young samanera and monk he went to the US in 1981 to attend the University in New York. He returned to Sri Lanka in 1985 to assist his teacher in managing the Gangaramaya’s vocational training centre. In 1997, he returned to the US and lived in Seattle for a number of years. He stayed in a Vietnamese Buddhist temple where he did social work and performed religious services for that community.
Podi Hamuduruwo and I have known each other for more than fifty years. He is one of my closest friends and confidants. He is a brilliant, visionary, energetic monk who has been performing meritorious deeds throughout his life, and his influence has spread around the world.
Podi Hamuduruwo was very ill some years ago and is recovering in Singapore. We miss his company, and the country misses his service. We hope to see him in the country soon, completely recovered.
On the occasion of his 77th birthday tomorrow, on behalf of all Sangha members in North America, I wish him a very happy birthday. May he have long life and the Blessings of the Triple Gem!